PHOENIX - At 6-foot-10, Randy Johnson stood on the mound and looked down on batters, an intimidating presence before he even threw the ball. [url=http://www.swellbottlenederland.com/]Swell Nederland Kopen[/url] .And when he let it fly, his talent matched his imposing stature.With a menacing fastball a

PHOENIX - At 6-foot-10, Randy Johnson stood on the mound and looked down on batters, an intimidating presence before he even threw the ball. Swell Nederland Kopen .And when he let it fly, his talent matched his imposing stature.With a menacing fastball and devastating slider, The Big Unit had a career that rivaled any other left-handed pitcher who played the game. There is a long list of statistics to back that up, and he seems a shoo-in as a first-ballot selection when the new Hall of Fame class is announced Tuesday.His best seasons came with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he won four consecutive Cy Young awards — he had a total of five — and his only World Series championship. Every start was a display of searing intensity.We knew that every fifth day we were going to get one of the most competitive efforts in the history of the game, said Bob Brenly, his manager for most of his time in Arizona. He pitched every game like it was the most important of his life.Since his retirement in 2009, Johnson has mostly detached himself from baseball, concentrating on his love of photography, travelling the world, shooting pictures of his many rock musician friends, meeting with soldiers on USO tours to Kuwait, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.Johnson pitched 22 seasons with Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, the New York Yankees and San Francisco, compiling a 303-166 career record.He led his league in strikeouts nine times, third-most in baseball history behind Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan. His average of 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings ranks first among all pitchers.Johnson had six seasons of at least 300 strikeouts, tied with Ryan for the most ever.A hard-throwing but extremely wild pitcher as a youngster at USC and in his early professional years, Johnson worked with Ryan and pitching coach Tom House in 1992 to fix his mechanics. And he developed remarkable control.Hes out of the mould physically when it comes to a major league pitcher, Brenly said. For him to go from where he was at the beginning of his career in Montreal when he was just a wild, hard thrower to where he finished his career — this guy would regularly strike out 300 more guys than he walked in a season.Thats a slight exaggeration, although Johnson did accomplish it once. In 2001, he fanned a career-high 372 and walked 71. It was the greatest season in Johnsons career, largely because of the way it ended.In the seventh game of a World Series considered by many to be the best ever played, with the New York Yankees leading 2-1, Johnson jogged down to the bullpen to thunderous cheers from the home crowd. When he emerged from the bullpen to pitch with two outs in the eighth inning, the reaction was even louder.For all the great moments there were in that World Series, Brenly said, people continuously tell me that when Randy ran down to the bullpen, then when the door opened and he came out of it, that was the seminal moment in that World Series.Johnson retired all four batters he faced, then Arizona scored twice off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth to win it all in just the franchises fourth season. Johnson was 3-0 in the series and earned co-MVP with Curt Schilling.A lot of left-handed hitters on opposing teams took the day off when Johnson pitched. The rest of the lineup knew they were in for a challenge.Its almost like youre going into a game with a 1-0 lead because of the psychological advantage he gave to the team, teammate Luis Gonzalez said. ... He thrived on intimidating other teams.Johnson talked about his approach to baseball in an interview with reporters when he appeared at Chase Field last May for the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his perfect game.I did what worked for me, he said. Doesnt mean it was the right way — it just worked for me. Whether it was working out the way I worked out, my regimen, my off-season training, my demeanour on game day, my demeanour working up to game day, it worked for me.In 2001, he became the third pitcher to strike out 20 in nine innings in a 4-3, 11-inning victory over Cincinnati. In 2002 he won the pitching version of the triple crown, leading the National League in wins, strikeouts and ERA.And in 2004, at the age of 40, he became the oldest person to throw a perfect game, a performance against Atlanta that still can be viewed on YouTube.Johnson has said hes not the same intense person he was back then. He stepped away from baseball for a long time, enjoying the easing of the internal pressure he always put on himself.I didnt have any problems retiring because I felt like I did what I wanted to do, he said in May. I deserved to walk away. Hydro Flask Drinkfles . "Ive still got it," Seattles ace said with a sly grin. Riding that fastball carrying a little more zip, Hernandez took a shutout bid into the ninth inning as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 on Wednesday night. On the verge of a brilliant shutout and first complete game since Aug. Hydro Flask Nederland . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. http://www.swellbottlenederland.com/ . They find themselves trying to knock each other out in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. The Blackhawks prevailed last year on their way to the Stanley Cup, and they have the early lead this time after taking the opener, 3-1.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Good morning Mr. F, First, thank you for helping to educate us fans about the rules of the game, and for sharing your stories. Second, my questions: What is the NHL policy on media and officials? Can they be on Twitter? Can they be interviewed by TSN? Can they publish a book? We rarely, if ever, see an active official make a comment off the ice. Is this because they dont have much to say, or because of restrictions? I could see referee interviews causing uproars among fans. Thanks!Kent Hi Kent: The policy the NHL has in place for their officials speaking to the media is clear and direct: NO COMMENT! All media access to the officials (interviews) must be cleared and granted through the office of Gary Meagher, Sr. Vice President Public Relations & Media Services. Gary is assisted by Julie Young, Manager of Public Relations. Once the content and nature of an interview is cleared, Julie is typically responsible for contacting the official and facilitating the interview. Both individuals are extremely professional and very good at their job. It was a treat to work with Julie Young because through her efforts things always went smoothly during the many times that I was requested for interviews. Social media is off-limits for all the officials! They are not allowed to have a Facebook or Twitter account as information could easily be misconstrued or deemed to be inappropriate. It is just another undesirable location that the officials could become accessible. After NBA referee Tim Donaghy was convicted on criminal charges and served time in federal prison for betting on games he officiated, NHL officials are "strongly discouraged" from entering casinos while travelling on NHL business. You can forget about reading a book written by any NHL officials until after they retire; unless perhaps it is a childrens coloring book! Other than the number on the back of their sweater (no names since 94) the league is most content when their officials are seen and not heard from. During the playoffs a supervisor (OOfficiating Manager) is assigned to each series. Swell Fles. In the event that an explanation might be required for any reason, it is conveyed to the media through the series supervisor after he consults with the officiating crew. If a major controversy were to occur in game, Gary Meagher will typically craft a press release and/or instruct the supervisor as to the information that should be shared with the media. Personally, I preferred the day when a pool reporter was allowed into the refs room after a game to get the answer directly from the official who made the decision on the ice. I would rather explain the reason behind my decision than to have it communicated through a third party or worse yet not explained at all. On occasion, pertinent aspects of my explanation became lost in the transfer and delivery of information. There are even times when the only answer is that an honest mistake was made but I doubt youll hear about it! Some officials are media savvy while others are not. I know many officials that would get torn to shreds by the media if they became accessible following a game. The only time the press would be interested to hear what an official had to say would be following some sort of controversy. It is at times such as this when damage control is utilized. Most often however, there is a reasonable explanation for a refs decision that should become public. Players and coaches can provide post-game comments from an emotional and often biased perspective. Those are the sound bites and quotes that fans are left with even though the NHL can (and has) impose fines to players and team management when they impugn the officials publicly. To prevent embarrassment or limit the need for damage control by the NHL, it is most obvious that a broad policy has to apply which restricts all referees or linesmen from making public comments. I am under no such gag order so the best place to get a straight answer as we move into the 2013-14 Stanley Cup playoffs is right here at Cmon Ref! Fair, honest and opinionated - the spin truly does stop here Kent! Enjoy the final weekend of the regular season and the race for the playoffs. ' ' '